Travel Blogs from Antarctica

... renewable energy. Robert gave us a very interesting presentation about his journey and the importance for us to maintain Antarctica pure and pristine.
On Sunday we finally reached the tip of Antarctic Peninsula. The weather was poor; overcast and ...

... be read from this, would only sound like cliches copied from stories told by the fortunate few that have experienced Antarctica and witnessed its glory for themselves. Superlatives are lost in this magical and majestical fairyland. Wildlife is in ...

... penguins, humpback whales and a lone Gentoo penguin (there is always one somewhere!) We headed back to Ortelius giddy with happiness. Antarctica had not finished with us for the day however and put on a light show for us at sunset lighting up the ...

The 7 am announcement said that it was 7 C but had a 14 knots wind which made it cold on the open deck above the bridge as we headed down the Lemaire Channel towards Petermann Island. The sun was trying to peep through the cloud cover but never ...

... , but we do know that we will be landing, for the first time, ON THE ANTARCTIC PENINSULA=WE ARE LANDING ON ACTUAL ANTARCTICA TOMORROW!!! I'm really excited and I can't wait to tell about all of tomorrow's fun times. Tonight a group of people aboard will ...

... of the other families on the trip are seasoned travelers. One 11 year old girl has been to over 60 countries, Antarctica becoming her 7th continent. I had a wonderful time photographing penguins on Jougla Island. Snapped some real winners. So excited ...

... at sea, the Expedition Staff presented lectures on various important and interesting Antarctic topics. I went to the lecture: "Introduction to Antarctica". An overview was given of the "ice-covered continent which has only 2% of its land free of ice. He ...

... would have had to pay a fortune to decommission it under the terms of the Antarctic Treaty and the Ukrainians got a foothold in Antarctica. We went in for a quick visit to see what like was like in a functioning Antarctic research station and even hung ...

The Swedish Ice Breaker,Oden, has arrived! The Oden made it's initial pass on January 7 and will spend this next week re-cutting the path for the oil tanker and re-supply vessel which will arrive at the end of the month and the beginning of ...

... of clothing and fleece, then waterproof wet weather trousers and heavy rubber boots!!! And yet still determinedly keen to set foot on Antarctica! And armed with camera wrapped in a specialist dry bag. Counted in to the zodiac waiting at the stern of the ...

Day 10-11: Day 10 - 3/12/13 We were back in the open ocean, travelling through the Scotia Sea, and I was feeling quite sick again. Just watched the lectures from the TV in our cabin and stayed in bed all day. Day 11 - 4/12/13 We were still in the Scotia ...

Tuesday Jan. 21 Hard to imagine we only have today and tomorrow here in Antarctica! This morning we are touring and hiking the Brown Station and Paradise Harbor area and cruising around the harbor. Our group is divided in ...

... very lucky person to have got the chance to see it, smell it and touch it!
Just a little info.... Ice covers 99.6% of Antarctica. Antarctica´s ice sheets contain 90% of the world´s ice (30 million cubic km), which contains nearly 70% of the world´s ...

A relocate along Lemaire Channel or otherwise known as Kodak Alley. I was in the bridge, where its warm and you have a wonderful forward view, when I saw out of the corner of my eye what appeared to be 2 whales surfacing. Sure enough they were 2 ...

After another fab 4 course lunch we steamed on to our next stop, Neko Harbor - an untouched, pristine bay filled with ice-bergs and glaciers and surrounded by mountains. We landed on a beach in the middle of another penguin colony and climbed a ...

Woke up today feeling queasy but we were well enough to eat lunch. The water was calmer as we had reached the English Channel (between several South Shetland Islands) and we had covered so much distance so quickly we were able to go for an ...

Sunday is a day off for most of the station, my team included. I decided to walk around a bit down at Hut Point to see Discovery Hut and the view from down there. The wind was blowing steady at 35+ so I was 100% bundled up and at times had to ...

... am sure of all the places on our little globe in the higher latitudes and over the millennias, none do it like Antarctica. Mid-winter dinner celebrations has been a long standing tradition in Antarctica, dating back to early explorers like ...

... flag flying from the bow. The landscape is breathtakingly beautiful. It is vast and compelling; the "marketing version" of Antarctica. The bright sun is invigorating and most guests are on deck, braving the estimated 50 mph winds. We ...

Today we were lucky as the weather was good enough for two excursions. The first was at Cuverville Island. We took the zodiacs across mirror like waters surrounded by glaciers with penguins waiting on shore. We climbed a hill behind the ...

... . The 1967 and 1969 eruptions partially destroyed and buried its buildings, the jetty, and the cemetery was carried away. In 1928, the first flight over Antarctica was flown by Sir Hubert Wilkens in a Vega Monoplane. This was financed by Randolph ...

Here are some pictures of all the layers of clothing we have to wear when venturing off the ship on an excursion!!! It takes about 15 minutes to get dressed in all the clothes. We have it down to 10 minutes now, since we know which layers go ...

... , and supportive from the get go.
The next weekend was a great new treat to me. We actually have a music festival here on Antarctica. I don't know if it's the only music festival or not, but I do know it's the only one here on this side of ...

... know. But I do know that there are not many places left in the world that can still be called "remote".
Antarctica is still a remote location. But the number of travelers and ships visiting this remote area of the world has been ...

... continent where soaked by the rich colours of the southern hemisphere sunset. Tomorrow we will enjoy our first continental landing on Antarctica and be amazed at the scenic Paradise Harbour. The drama of the Lemaire Channel will inspire us, and we also ...

... the passengers to lay down the ground rules and give a little history. I found a little blurb in my Lonely planet Antarctica that mapped out the whole place telling you where cool things were, who slept where, and even pointed out a little ...

Someone has angered the Weather gods! Heads bowed in retching prayer into those most sacred of objects, the vomit bag.
Day 5, Sat 8 Nov: At sea, sailing for the South Atlantic for South Georgia.
Talks today; glacier and ice ...

We did the Polar Plunge! We got to leave work for a few hours and head over to Scott Base where they had set up the official Polar Plunge site. It was a big hole the size of a kiddie swimming pool with a platform to jump off of. We were ...